Kochs aide slams Democratic ad buy

An aide to the Koch brothers on Friday ripped into a massive Democratic ad buy that attacks the billionaires across five Senate battleground states.

In reaction to a $3 million ad buy in Colorado, North Carolina, Arkansas, Michigan and Louisiana by Senate Majority PAC, a spokesman for Koch Industries accused the group of “negative cynical, divisive, and dishonest attacks” against Charles and David Koch.

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The big spending by the Democratic group “is the latest round in a series of attacks and attempts to silence private citizens who dare to disagree with the policies of the Majority Leader and the current administration,” said Philip Ellender of Koch Industries. “Rather than focusing on job creation and improving Americans’ lives for the betterment of this country, Senator Reid has decided to focus instead on intimidating political opposition and squelching dissent.”

Senate Majority PAC has strong ties to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has repeatedly expressed his disdain for the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity and the millions of dollars it’s used to attack the records of Democratic senators on Obamacare and climate policy.

The spending by Senate Majority PAC will run for two weeks and seeks to paint Republican Senate candidates as supportive of policies that would benefit the Kochs and billionaires, according to the New York Times. It’s part of a party-wide strategy to draw attention to the conservative benefactors and the policies that they support. The strategy is increasingly being embraced by Democratic senators on the receiving end of AFP’s barrage.

“This ad campaign is about showing voters where these Republican Senate candidates stand on issues important to seniors and the middle class. And in every case, these candidates side with out of state billionaires over middle-class families in their state,” said Ty Matsdorf, a spokesman for Senate Majority PAC.

Reid has tossed repeated barbs at the Kochs for dropping ad after ad on Democrats like Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina, charging that the brothers are “un-American” and are trying to “buy the country” through their political spending. Reid has even accused the Kochs of preventing aid to Ukraine.

Republican senators are beginning to more pointedly defend the Kochs, exemplified by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) telling constituents this week that the brothers “are two of the most patriotic Americans.” But that’s certainly not how Majority PAC sees it.

“Take a closer look at those ads against [Sen.] Mark Udall,” an ad says in Colorado. “Those behind the attacks? Insurance companies and out-of-state billionaires.”